Manually rotatable directional antenna



Jan. 22, 1952 w. y'.1. EDWARDS MANUALLY ROTATABLE DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA 2 SHEETS-SHEET l ,Filed Jan. 5, 1951 (fr-j lA/fff III-0401101' 3 4 4 5 2 o m/ 4 4 2 4 M 0 9 a 3 0 j 5 J/ 1 W W b 14 n, 6 6 I a W7 Jan. 22, 1952 w. J. EDWARDS 2,583,210

MANUALLY ROTATABLE DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA Filed Jan. 5, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Jan. 22, 1952V MANUALLY ROTATABLE DraEc'rIoNAL ANTENNA Walter J. Edwards, Old Fort, N. C.

Application January 5, 1951, Serial No. 204,586 7 anims. (o1. 25o-33.51)

This invention relates to an improved construction of support for a television or FM radio antenna and more particularly to a rotatable support capable of being manually turned about its longitudinal axis for varying the direction of a dipole attached thereto for disposing the dipole in the most advantageous position to receive the signal wave beamed from transmission points in different localities and thus directed in diiferent directions toward the antenna.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a structure of extremely simple construction capable of being utilized for supporting an antenna dipole for turning movement in substantially a horizontal plane to posiii.

tion the dipole in different positions for most advantageously receiving signals from diierent stations or transmission points and which is so constructed that itcan be operated from within a building on the outer side of which the antenna mast is disposed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a manually rotatable antenna structure-which will additionally function as a shield and ground for grounding electric current caused by lightning to thus prevent injury to the apparatus or to any radio or television receiver attached thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of extremely simple construction having f means to protect and shield the working parts thereof from the elements and which is capable of being easily erected and easily operated for rotating the antenna dipole and for accurately positioning the dipole for most advantageously z,

view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged central 4vertical sectional view partly in side elevation of another portion of the apparatus;

Figures 5 and 6 are enlarged cross sectional 2 views taken substantially along planes as indicated by the lines 5-5 and B-B,'respectively, of Figure 1, and

Figure 7 is an elevational-view of the upper portion of the mast illustrating another form of dipole and its mounting upon the mast.

Referring more specically to the drawings, the manually rotatable television and FM radio antenna in its entirety is designated generally l!) and is shown supported primarily by a supportform. l2 is supported by a depending legvl.

A gear housing, designated generally It which is preferably formed of corresponding sections l1 and I8, includes a base I9 which is secured to the platform I2 by suitable fastenings 2u to support the housing i6 in an upright position on said platfornr'as 'illustrated in Figures 1 and 4. The casing sections l1 and I8 combine to form a gear cavity 2l in the upper portion of the casing i6 and a tubular bore 22 having an upper end opening into the cavity l2l and a lower end opening outwardly of the bottom of the base i9.

A tubular shaft or sleeve 23 extends rotatably through a bearing .opening 24 in the tcp of the casing I6 and has a large beveled gear 25 fixed to its intermediate portion and disposed with the gear cavity 2l. A thrust bearing cone 26 is fixed -to the shaft 23 beneath the gear 25 and seats against a plurality of bearing elements 21 which are disposed in an annular groove 2liwhich opens into the cavity 2l and whichLis formed in the bearing base 29 which rests on .the casing part surrounding the upper end-of thenbore 22. The bearing base 29 has a portion extending into the bore 22 which is loosely disposed around a part of the shaft 23. The parts 26, 2 'and 29 combine to form-an anti-friction thrustl bearing Afor supporting the shaft 23. A cage 21a may be provided for the bearing elements 2. The lower portion of the shaft 23 extends downwardly into the bore 22and terminates below the bearing base 29. A shaft 30 lextends into the gear cavity 2l at substantially a right angle to the hollow shaft 23 and has a beveled pinion 3i fixed to the end thereof disposed in the casing I6, which pinion meshes withjthe beveled gear 25. The shaft 30l is ljournaled in a bearing opening 32 of the gear casing- Hi-- adjacent the pinion 3|. The bearingl-openingsl24 and 32 each include half sections formed -byl each of the two gear casing sections l'lV and I8 and said gear casa ing sections each likewise includes a half of the base I9, or if desired, the base may constitute an integral part of only one of the casing sections. The casing sections I'l and I8 have complementary flanged edges 33 arranged in abutting engagement and which are secured together by a plurality of threaded fastenings 34 for detachably connecting the casing sections Il' and I6.

The shaft 30 extends from the gear casing I6 laterally' thereof toward the building I4 and through an opening in the wall I3 thereof, said wall I3 having a sleeve bearing 35 extending therethrough for accommodating a portion of the shaft 30 and in which the shaft portion is journaled, adjacent its opposite end. The opposite end of the shaft 30 which is disposed in the building I4 has a hand crank 36 xed thereto and which is adapted normally to be disposed adjacent a door 37 of the building I4 although the shaft 30 and crank 36 may be disposed at any desired'level. Between thewall I3 and gear casing I6; theshaft 30 is'provided with spaced'universal joints 38 to prevent binding ofthe shaft ends in the bearings'32 and 35.

A stop pin 39 is'fi'xedto and' rises from the top portion of the casing section I8 and is disposed in the path of rotation of a stop pin 4! which is fixed to land projects radially from the hollow shaft 23, abovev the casing I6, to limit the extent that thehollow shaft 23 and gear 25 can' berevolvedby the shaft 30 and pinion 3i to permit the'hollow shaft 23 to revolve slightly less than a' complete revolution.

The upper end" of the hollow shaft 23 is externally threaded to receive the enlarged internally threadedV lower'end ofia reducer coupling 4I the restricted internally threaded upper end of which threadedly receives the externally threaded lower'end of aA pipe 42 forming the antenna mast'a'nd which may extend above the gear casing I6 to any desired elevation and which may be formed ofonelor a plurality of sections. A concave-convex'canopy'43 has a central boss 44r whichengages loosely around the mast 42 and isi adjustablyfsecured theretoby a setscrew 45 which' is. threaded"radially'through the wall of thev boss 44` into`the borethereof to detachably engage the mast42to clamp the boss 44 thereto fory positioningr thecanopy 43 at any desired level above thevcoupling 4I. The canopy 43 has its concave sidefacing downwardly and its convex side uppermost and is normally disposed adjacent the coupling 4I to provideaS shield over the gear casing' I6 'to' protect the gear casing and the parts contained' thereinfr-om' the elements.. A disk 46. hasa central opening-which engages loosely aroundthemast 42 and is. rotatably supported thereon atanydesired'lev'el by a collar 4l which is. adjustably` disposed on` the mast 42 beneath the' disk 46 and detachably secured thereto by arsetscrewv 48. so thatthe mast 42 and collar 47 may rotate relatively to the disk 45. The disk 46 is apertured as seen at 48 to be engaged-by the adjacent ends'of a plurality of guide wires I)v which are anchored thereto and the opposite ends-of which may be anchored to the earth or to any other 'rigid support for maintaining the mast 42 in an upright position.

A coupling' 5I has-a; lower end threaded onto the upper end of the mast 42, as best seen in Figure 2, and a short length of pipe 52 forming an extension of the mast 42, has a lower end threaded into the upper end of the coupling 5I and is closed at' its-upper end by a cap 53. The coupling 5I is provided intermediate of its ends with a laterally projecting tubular extension 54, shaped similar to a faucet bib and having a downturned open free end.

The mast 42 is grounded at 55 by a ground wire 56 through the gear casing I6, hollow shaft 23 and coupling 4I, said ground wire 56 being connected in any suitable manner to the gear casing I6 as by one of the fastenings 2B. A dipole 57`is connected at its high frequency to the pipe section 52 by a connector 58 so that the mast 42 constitutes a lightning arrester so that any current from lightning may be carried directly to the ground Without impairing incoming radio or television signals, and also a shield for a lead in or transmission line 59 which extends therethrough to protect the transmission line against local interference. The lower bay or low frequency of the dipole 5l may be attached to the ma'st42 beneath the joint 5I by a second connector 58. Corresponding ends of the two wire strands 66 of the transmission line 5S are attached to thetwo contact posts 6I of the low frequency of the dipole 51 and the two posts 6 Ia of the high frequency. l:Ehe transmission line, which is enclosed in a casing of electrical material 62, extends from the low frequency of the dipole 51 through the coupling extension 54 and coupling 5I and thence downwardly through the mast 42. The insulation 62 is provided with additional wrapping as seen at 63 where it extends through the down turned open end of the tubular extension 54 to prevent the transmission line from being drawn inwardly of the extension 54 and also at the point where it is turned downwardly in the coupling 5I, as seen at 64, to prevent the insulation from being worn oi at this point. A rubber tube 65 extends downwardly from above the lower endv ofthe mast 42 through the hollow shaft 23 and the gear casing I6 and downwardly through an opening |66 in the platform I2 to enclose and protect the portion of the transmission line 59 which is disposed adjacent the moving parts of the device. The transmission line 59 extends from the lower end of the tube 65 to a radio or television receiver, not shown.

If a circular dipole 51a is employed, as illustrated in Figure 7, diametrically opposite portions thereof may be secured by a connector 56a to the extension section 52 and by an insulator 58h to the mast 42 below the coupling 5I. The ends of the'strands 60 are then attached to the contact posts 6Ib which are located at the ends of the insulator'53b and insulated thereby from the mast 4-2.

Adial 65 is'secured by fastenings 6l to a baseboard' 68 through which the sleeve bearing 35 extends and is supported thereby on the inner side of the wall i3 and spacedy therefrom. The dial 661s provided with a centrally disposed bearing 69 in which is journaled one end of a short shaft 'lll to which isv fixed a grooved pulley 1I. The pulley 'Il has a pointer 'I2 fixed thereto and which projects radially from a portion of its periphery to overlie a portion of the face 'I3 of the dial 66 which is inscribed with circumferentially spaced letters 14 indicating compass directions. A flexible member 15 is wound several times about the shaft 36 below the pulley 'II and has its ends extending upwardly on opposite sides of the periphery of the pulley, as seen in Figure 6, and thence inwardly through an opening 'f6 in the pulley periphery and which communicates with the hollow interior of the pulley. One end ofthe flexible member. 'I5 is anchored within the pulley 'll at TE and the opposite end thereof is connected to one end of a contractile spring 18 the opposite end of which is anchored in the pulley at '19. The pinion 3| is of a diameter relatively to the gear so that the shaft 3B will make at least three and one-half rotations to each rotation of the hollow shaft 23 and the shaft 3&3 is sized relatively to the pulley 1l so that said pulley will turn through an arc of at least 180 while the shaft 23 is Aturning slightly less than 360. Accordingly, when the stop pin its is engaging against one side of the stop pin i9 the pointer 'l2 will be disposed over one of the letters W representing West and when the shaft 23 is rotated by manual rotation of the shaft i the pointer 'l2 will pass over the initials l@ representing South, East and North before eventually stopping over the other initial representing West However, if desired the pulley l! could be reduced in diameter and the flexible member l5 made endless to be frictionally engaged in the groove thereof so that the pointer 'l2 would turn through a complete revolution. It will thus be readily apparent that by turning the hand crank 36 the mast 42 will be revolved through the beveled gear and pinion drive 25, 3l to turn the diploe 51 in a horizontal plane to cause it to face in any direction from which waves are being beamed from a transmission point to thereby obtain the most ecient results from the aerial. It will also be obvious that the dial face 13 can be marked to indicate the proper setting for each transmitting station after such setting has once been determined.

As previously pointed out, the mast 42 provides a shield to protect the transmission line 59 from local interference and additionally functions to ground the aerial to prevent damage to the receiver, not shown, to which the lead in 59 is connected resulting from an electric current produced by lighting. It will also be apparent that the mechanically operated rotatable antenna as herein disclosed may be operated substantially as conveniently as an electric or hydraulic unit for rotating an antenna mast and is capable of being much more economically manufactured and sold and much more readily installed and maintained in efcient operating condition.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A manually operated rotatably supported directional antenna comprising a gear casing, a stationary support on which the gear casing is secured in an upright position, a hollow shaft journaled in the gear casing longitudinally and vertically with respect thereto, a drive shaft having one end projecting into the gear casing and journaled therein and disposed at an angle to said hollow shaft,`a beveled gear and pinion drive connecting said end of the drive shaft to an intermediate portion of the hollow shaft, a hollow mast having a lower end coupled to the n lli upper end of the hollow shaft above the gear casing and forming an. upright extension of the hollow shaft, a dipole secured to the mast adjacent its upperl end and grounded through said mast, said mast having a tubular branch extending laterally therefrom and disposed adjacent the dipole provided with a downwardly opening outer end, a transmission line connected at one end to the dipole and extending therefrom into said lateral branch extension through its downwardly opening end and downwardly through the mast and hollow shaft, said gear casing having a bore opening outwardly of its lower end into which the lower end of the hollow shaft extends and through which the transmission line extends from said hollow shaft, said platform having an opening extending downwardly therethrough communicating with the bore of the gear casing through which the transmission line extends from the gear casing, and manually actuated means connected to the opposite end of said drive shaft remote to the gear casing for revolving the hollow shaft, mast and dipole.

2. An antenna as is in claim 1, a stationary dial face having compass indicia thereon disposed adjacent the last mentioned end of the drive shaft, a pointer, rotatably mounted means supporting said pointer for movement over the dial face indicia, and means connecting the drive shaft and rotatably mounted pointer supporting means for causing said means to be turned by the drive shaft in a predetermined relationship relatively to the hollow shaft and mast for visually indicating the directional dispostion of the dipole.

3. An antenna as in claim 2, said dial and pointer being adapted to be disposed within an enclosure together with said manually operated means of the drive shaft, and said mast and gear casing being disposed externally of the enclosure.

e. An antenna as in claim 1, a tubular rubber casing enclosing the transmission line from above and adjacent the lower end of the mast to below said platform.

5. An antenna as in claim l, and means for limiting the rotation of said mast including an element fixed to the gear casing and a second element fixed to and projecting radially from the hollow shaft above the gear casing and disposed to engage said rst element when the hollow shaft is turned a predetermined distance in either direction.

6. An antenna as in claim 1, said gear casing and hollow shaft being provided with anti-friction thrust bearing means disposed within the gear casing and providing an anti-friction support for the hollow shaft, mast and dipole.

7. An antenna as in claim 1, said mast having a closed upper end, and a canopy having a convexed upper surface adjustably supported by the mast above and adjacent the gear casing for shielding the gear casing and the parts disposed therein from the elements.

WALTER J. EDWARDS No references cited. 

